The Boy From Magnolia: Destroyer, Protector, Balancer
by chaosphoenix123
Summary: There is no good without evil, no order without chaos, and no life without death. A magic-less Romeo will come to learn the true meaning of these simple laws as he takes up tutelage under a strange man while at the X791 GMG. Soon he will learn the hard way that the world isn't all black and white, life was never meant to be fair, and not everyone is guarantee a happy ending.
1. Falling

_Disclaimers: I do not own Fairy Tail_

 _A/N: Redid Chapter 1 and added some Romeo and Wendy interaction, will this be a RoWen, who knows? Also remember, Romeo never joined Fairy Tail in this story because he doesn't have magic, therefore he's not a fanboy of the guild members, therefore his interaction with the guild members is different than canon._

 **If you're reading this and wondering: "Wasn't this story done by Elemental Storm?" you be correct. I try to see if I could manage two separate accounts and turns out I can't, but I didn't want to keep adding stories to an already ever-growing list of WIP on my main account. Turn out I can't help but write stories so I'm sorry about this, I'm just going to add the story to this account and be done with it.**

 **Please Review, Fav, or Follow if you want.**

 _ **Chapter 1**_

 _In the beginning, there was nothing…nothing but the Endless Void and the Eternal Sphere that lay in the center of it. Both of them have existed long before time was even relevant._

 _Then the Eternal Sphere pushed back the Endless Void so it could allow itself to dream._

 _From that dream what was once an eternal and limitless sea of darkness soon became a frenzy of lights and life._

 _From the first milliseconds of light the infinite planes were formed; from the bottomless Abyss to the Nine Hells and all the way to the highest of heavens. From the creation of the Astral Sea that lay between dimensions, to the formation of the Elemental Chaos from which all the elements were created._

 _From there the Immortals: Gods, Devils, Angels, and Demons were created and thus the start of their never-ending wars began for you see the Eternal Sphere was split up into two halves: One was Eternal Order while the other was Eternal Chaos. One could not exist without the other though they were constantly at odds with one another, thus its creations were made to reflect each of its halves._

 _A heartbeat later, the elementals, ferocious sentient beings of power who were the very embodiment of the fire, earth the wind and water, and therefore were brought forth from the void. These were the product of a special joint effort between order and chaos; belonging to both while at the same time belong to neither._

 _Within time mortals were allowed to be created by the immortals so they could worship them while also populating the planes of existence alongside a number of beasts and monsters._

 _All the while the Eternal Sphere observe it all through its infinite omniscient might. With its power, it put up barriers around each of the planes in order prevent them from collapsing onto another and to keep each planes' inhabitants to themselves._

 _At first, the Eternal Sphere allows the immortals to regulate their worlds in the way they saw most fit, but over time they began to abuse the powers bestowed upon them. Instead of using them to uphold the balance of order and chaos, they use them for their own personal gain and to establish dominance over one another, even those of their own kind._

 _The Eternal Sphere did not want to interfere any more than necessary, but both Order and Chaos felt that if something wasn't done, everything would revert back to nothingness and the Endless Void would come once again._

 _Thus an organization was established. Three beings from each sentient race that populated the infinite multiverse would be given the role of Protector, Destroyer, and finally, Balancer. These chosen few would be granted the power to keep the maintain the stability between good and evil, law and anarchy, yin and yang. For countless eons, these watchers have maintained this delicate line through blood and sacrifice, through determination and perseverance, through dedication and resolve._

 _Now the time has come and the Endless Void has returned at last and it seeks to plunge all of existence back into nothingness and only the power of the Eternal Sphere can halt this devastation._

 _This power gifted to these Planes Masters of the order is the power of the planes themselves. A power that could either save or doom a million worlds in a blink of an eye._

 ** _Endless blue._**

 ** _That was all he could see in every direction as he plummets to his inevitable demise._**

 ** _An infinite range of blue dotted with white. The sky went on forever with no end in sight, it just kept going. He so memorized by its beauty that he forgot to scream on his way down, probably rather wanting to spend the last few moments of his life admiring this amazing scenery than flailing around in a frantic panic._**

 ** _It reminded him of all the times he would skip school and just stare up at the clouds. Calm and serene, peaceful and quiet, that is how he spent his days, relaxing in the grass as the sun shine down on him._**

 ** _He doesn't know how exactly he got up here but he recalls the events that led up to the moment before he appears in the sky. It began earlier this morning when he had his first conversation ever with Fairy Tail's youngest Dragon-Slayer, Wendy Marvell, despite the fact she technically has been part of the guild for seven years._**

 **Flashback**

A calm breeze was sweeping through the grass fields just outside the eastern Magnolia city's limit, the smoothing wind felt like a soft whisper on his skin. He basks in the warm rays of sunlight, letting the warmth wash over him as he watches the clouds dance across the Fioran's sky. He didn't even try to make an attempt to go to school today, instead, immediately going in the opposite direction of the schoolhouse as soon as his mom duck her head back inside the house.

" _Why would I waste such great day like today inside of some crumbling building?",_ Romeo thought to himself as he stared upward toward the heavens, taking in their beauty, " _Besides, not that anyone really cares or anything, everyone probably getting ready for the games."_

Romeo once peaceful thoughts then took a negative turn as his recalls how thanks to Team Natsu and their usual antics while they were away at some resort training for the games, they ended up causing a massive amount of damage and thus causing the guild a huge dent in their budget for the games. Basically Fairy Tail barely had enough money to cover everyone at the games; in fact, everyone would be paying half of their hotels' rooms and food. His parents being the cheapskates that they were, mostly his dad, decided to use the excuse that Romeo has missed too many days of school and therefore would have to stay behind while they and his sisters went to Crocus.

"You think they at least come up with a better excuse than that", Romeo told himself as he picks up the grass moving behind him and realizes that he may not be alone anymore in the field.

Within moments he had a girl in a white sundress staying over him, looking down at him with chocolate brown eyes and long flowing blue hair.

Silence pass between them for what seems like an eternity as the breeze continued to blow, making the girl's hair dance in the wind.

….

….

After a few moments, Romeo decided to speak…

" Just so you know I can see your panties and I must say, blue and white stripes is a very bold choice", he said nonchalantly causing the girl's eyes to widen as she finally realizes that she was almost standing directly over him.

"Eek!", echoes throughout the field as she slams her hands down on the hem of her sundress and literally jumps away from Romeo a good ten feet, her face practically glowing red in embarrassment. It was during all that frenzy of motion that Romeo happens to notice the blue Fairy Tail guild mark on her right shoulder.

" _Huh, she has the Fairy Tail's symbol, but I don't recall there being a girl there that's around my age,_ _especially one with blue hair",_ Romeo thought before it finally hit him, " _Oh yeah, that's right, there was a girl like that all those years ago."_

"You're that Wendy girl, aren't you?", he calls back to her, "The Wind Dragon-Slayer?"

It took the girl a moment to realize that Romeo was talking to her but eventually she replies back, "Y-yes, my name is Wendy and if you don't mind, I'm known as the Sky Dragon-Slayer."

"Don't really see the difference, but okay. So Wendy, what brings you way out here?", Romeo asks wanting this girl to hurry up and leave him be.

The blush that was starting to go away on the girl's face return with a vengeance as Wendy finds herself unable to speak for a moment. Romeo notices her silence and let out a breath in annoyance as he sat up and turns around to face the slightly flustered girl.

"Well?"

"I-I caught your scent and thought you were someone I knew", she said in a voice so quiet that Romeo had to strain his ears to hear her.

"Let me get this straight", Romeo began, "I smell like someone you knew, is that what you're trying to tell me?"

"I know it sounds weird", Wendy admitted, "But you see-"

"You don't have to explain anything to me; you're a dragon-slayer. I may have no interest in magic things like most people are but I do know that the mages that use dragon slayer magic have a greater sense of smell and you probably mistook my scent for one of my twin sisters, Juliet or Rosalina", Romeo explain causing Wendy to take on a look of surprise, "Am I right?"

"Juliet and Rosalina are your twin sisters? Wait, that means you're?"

"Romeo Conbolt, the middle child of Macao and Enno Conbolt", he introduces himself as he got up and walk over to Wendy, "I'm the one that can't use magic as you have probably heard."

Wendy proceeds to look Romeo up and down, as though to verify his claim, "Wow, you look just like your sisters."

"You mean besides not having boobs, right?", Romeo joke, "I like to think I don't have man-boobs."

Romeo was expecting a shocked gasp from the girl for his blunt vulgarness, a trait he, unfortunately, got from his dad, but what he was not expecting was a scowl to briefly flash across her face along with her looking down at her own chest.

"They're not that big", he sworn he heard her say, "Not my fault they grew up over seven years while I stay the same. They obviously get it from Enno."

….

…..

….

"Okay, moving on before I become mentally scar", Romeo spoke, "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the games?"

"Shouldn't you as well?", Wendy asks, "The train leaves early tomorrow morning."

"I'm not going", Romeo states what he thought was obvious.

"Really?", Wendy wonder, "Why not?"

"I've got school", Romeo half-lied, deciding best to leave his family drama at home because from what he has seen, the guild was not the place for your drama to spread seeing how it had its own fair share of it. Besides, from what he heard from Juliet and Rosalina, Wendy didn't cause any damage at the resort so he had no reason to be mad at her.

"Oh", was all Wendy had to say, "I didn't know that."

"Not surprise by that."

The two of them once again descend into silence for a moment before Wendy spoke again.

"You know, now that I think about it", she said, "This is the first time I ever had a conversation with you. In fact, this is the first time I ever met you, even back when I first join the guild."

Romeo just shrugs, "Most of the time back then, I was in school and I didn't go to the guild hall unless I needed my parents for something."

"May I ask why? Your sisters seem to enjoy coming to the guild hall all the time back then", Wendy said.

Romeo was about to answer before he stops and simply shook his head, "Nah, you wouldn't understand."

Wendy simply blinks at this, "What wouldn't I understand?"

"The reason why I don't go to the guild hall. You have magic and I don't, so you couldn't possibly understand why I avoid the guild hall", Romeo explains as he started to walk back to where his backpack laid on the ground. He wasn't even halfway there when he heard a shuffling of feet and a blue blur speed past him. Next thing he knew his black eyes once again lock with Wendy's brown color ones and she had a frown on her face.

"Can I…help you with something?", Romeo asks, not really sure on how he should proceed in this type of situation, " _Wow, she's fast_ and _I thought everyone said she was shy."_

"You know, I have done quite a bit of dangerous tasks despite my age", she began to lecture Romeo on, with a finger in his face and everything, "I took on Oracion Seis, I save the guild and the Exceed race back in Edolas, I fought against Fairy Tail's second guild master and his dark guild, Grimoire Hearts, on Tenrou, then I bravely fought against Acnologia, and even help save the world from the Infinite Clock while taking on the Legion. I think I'm more than capable of understanding your personal reasons on why you don't come to the guild hall."

" _Why do I feel like I'm being lecture?",_ Romeo thought.

Wendy then stops and takes a deep breath, (that rant took it out of her) and Romeo immediately fled the overwhelming urge to run cause he heard about how strong her Dragon-Roar spell from Rosalina, he also knows from first-hand experience that dragon-slayers tend to have short tempers and have a pattern of attack first, ask questions never.

"Whoa! Whoa!", he yells as he jumps back and throws his hands up in an attempt to calm her down, "There is no need for that here! I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings!"

Wendy only looked at him with a baffled expression, "No need for what?", before she finally caught on to what Romeo meant.

To Romeo completely surprise, the powerful yet tiny dragon-slayer began bowing profusely while apologizing at a rapid pace, "I'm sorry! I sorry! I didn't mean to give you that impression! I would never use my magic on someone just because they said something rude!"

It would take Wendy a hot minute to calm down, at which she explains her situation at the guild to Romeo, who really wanted to get back to cloud watching but decided to listen anyway just to be a nice guy. Also because he didn't want to find out the hard way if Wendy shared the same short temper that Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus had.

"So you get the feeling that even though you have faced just as many dangers as everyone else at the guild, they still somewhat treat you like a child, right?", Romeo asks as both he and Wendy lay down at opposite side of one another in the grass, his school backpack separating their heads.

Wendy nods her head, "I know they don't mean anything by it, but sometimes they seem to think that I can't handle myself, especially Carla."

"Is that the cat with the bitchy resting face?", Romeo asks.

"Hey!", Wendy says.

"What? She does!", Romeo defended himself, "The few times I have seen her she does."

"Anyway", Wendy moved on though still slightly irritated, "That's the problem I'm having with the guild."

"Not that I care or anything, but if they treat you like that, how do they treat my sisters?", Romeo asks, "Their magic isn't as powerful as yours."

"Pretty much the same as they do me, if not more", Wendy answers, "But they seem somewhat okay with that, but I guess they're just happy that we're back."

Romeo lets out a huff, "Yeah that sounds like them. Back then they were always Natsu this and Natsu that."

The sound of the wind blowing is all that could be heard for a time…

"You do realize that this is a great opportunity for you, right?", Romeo said.

"What is?", Wendy reply.

"The Grand Magic Games", Romeo said as he sat up and turn around toward her, "Think about it, the whole country, if not the continent, will be watching the games. You're on the team, so all you have to do is win every event you're in and the guild will have to stop treating you like a child."

"T-T-The whole continent will be watching me?", Wendy stutters out, "That's a lot of pressure."

"Oh, stop your whining, I'm sure you'll do fine, maybe ", Romeo said, "Like you said, you have taken on Oracion Seis, the Legion, and Acnologia. Who could stand in your way at the games, besides that Jura fellow at Lamia Scale?"

Wendy thought Romeo's words over for a moment in her head, " _Well I did have Second Origin unlock while we were training, maybe I can do this."_

"So Romeo?", Wendy says, catching the boy's attention as he went back to laying on the ground and looking at the clouds, "You never told me the reason why you don't like going to the guild hall."

"You're going to keep asking me until I tell you, aren't you?", Romeo said while turning his head to look straight at her.

"Well, I did tell you my problem", Wendy was her answer.

Romeo, for the third time this morning, let out a breath in annoyance, "Fine, I'll tell you. It's really simple though….there's a wall in between me and everyone else."

A question mark appears above Wendy's head, "There's no wall at the guild hall."

"I meant figuratively, please try to keep up", Romeo gripe, "Like I was saying, there is a wall between me and the rest of the mages at Fairy Tail."

Romeo waited a moment to see if Wendy had anything else to say, after hearing nothing coming from her, he continues on.

"Whenever I'm at home, all I hear from everyone is magic this, magic that. The lack of jobs coming into the guild, problems with dark guilds, the Magic Council riding my dad, my sisters learning a new fire spell. That is all I ever hear from them", Romeo explains, "Around the dinner table, around the house, everywhere. I can't relate to any of that, Guild jobs mean nothing to me, I really don't have to deal with dark guilds, the Magic Council has no control over me, and I couldn't less whether my idiot's sisters learn a new spell or not. But at home, that's all I ever hear."

"And when you go to the guild...", Wendy began to catch on.

"It becomes tenfold", Romeo finish though he did wonder a bit about why he was spilling his life story to a girl he just met, but she did seem to give off a vibe that made her easy to talk to, "The few times I have been to the guild I just sat off in a corner and listen to everyone go about their day. There was nothing I could relate to there, none of those guys went to a regular school, they all either went to a magic school or didn't go to school at all. All those guys are set for life as long as they're able to stay in a magic guild. Me? I actually have to find a job once I graduate, one that will probably take me out of Magnolia, I'll have to work to make a living and all you mages got to do is take a guild job now and then to make rent."

Romeo finishes his rant and glances over at Wendy who look to be thinking over everything he just said, "So basically you feel like an outcast at the guild, despite the fact your father is guild master and your mother and sisters are members."

"Exactly!", Romeo screams, startling Wendy a bit, "I'm an outcast at my own home and at the guild where my family a major part of!"

"And you feel it's just unfair?"

"What else would it be? It seems that I drew the short lot, and now I'm suffering for it by having to go to school and all", Romeo complain.

"Is that why you're skipping school right now?", a voice says from behind the two teens.

Both Romeo and Wendy turn their heads around to see the powerful Mira Strauss standing there with a "not amuse" look on her face.

"Your teacher called the guild hall a while ago, apparently this is your third day this month of skipping class", she stated as she walks over to them

"I'm surprised they gave me three days before they finally decide to call someone", Romeo says as he stands up, "Where my father at? Too drunk to come get me himself? And what about my mom and sisters; too busy out shopping together or learning new magic spells?"

"You know as well as I do that your family is busy helping the guild get ready to participate in this year's Grand Magic Games", Mira said.

"Oh yeah, the games I don't get to go to", Romeo mockingly recall.

"Romeo, I'm sure Natsu and the others didn't mean to cause all that damage at the resort", Mira said.

"Doesn't matter if they meant to or not, the point of the matters is that because they did do that, the guild doesn't have the money to take non-members to the games", Romeo complain, "So now I'm stuck here by myself while you guys get to have all the fun."

Wendy could only sit there and watch the exchange, feeling best that she stay quiet.

"You also have school to attend as well Romeo", Mira reminded him, "You can't afford to miss five days of school, despite what you believe."

"You guys didn't have to go to school when you were my age", Romeo points out to which Mira frown.

"Romeo, you know the Fiore's law requires all non-mages to attend school; now are you going to school or am I going to have to force you to?", as a magic circle appears beneath her.

"You know what?", Romeo asks, "I'll go just to avoid any more trouble."

"Good, cause your teacher is going to call the guild hall once you arrive at school, so don't dally", Mira told him as the magic circle dispels and she walks back the way she came but not before sparing a glance at Wendy then back at Romeo.

"Not even important enough to my parents for them to come and chew me out", Romeo murmurs to himself as he picks up his backpack and began walking toward town.

"Hey, Romeo?", Wendy calls out to him, making the boy stop in his tracks.

"What is it?", he replies without looking back.

Wendy went quiet for a moment, causing Romeo to glances at her over his shoulder.

"Well?"

"You think maybe you could come see the guild off tomorrow morning at the train station?", Wendy asks, "I know we're leaving early, but you should have enough time to make it to school afterward."

"Why would I want to do something like that?"

"You don't have to, but I think it might actually mean something to the guild and your family if you came to see them off", Wendy answers.

Romeo turns fully around to face Wendy, staring at her with an emotionless face. After about a good thirty seconds of staring, he shook his head.

"I'll think about it, but I'm not making any promises", he said as he went along his way, leaving Wendy alone in the grassy fields. As he walks away, the back of his mind with mulling about over the conversation he just had with the girl.

" _I guess she's an alright person, but even I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth that I didn't miss any of the guys while they were gone for seven years."_

 _ **Later on**_

"Stupid teacher giving me detention for a week." , Romeo grumbles as he made his way home as the sun was starting to set. The streets were mostly deserted except for a couple folk doing some last minute shopping at the few vendors that were still opened; most of them were packing up to make the trip to Crocus and try to sell their goods to the crowd that would no doubt gather for the X791 Grand Magic Games.

"Seems like everyone's going to the games but me", Romeo said as he turns down the street that he has lived all his life alongside his dad, his mom, and his sisters.

"Hey Romeo", he hears and he looks up to see his next-door neighbor Lindsay Mine looking down at him from her bedroom window, "Heard you were late for school again today."

"That would imply that I was putting in the effort to go to school; I was skipping class until Mira found me and force me to go", Romeo answered causing Rebecca to laugh out loud.

"Yeah I heard about that as well; so what are you going to be doing while everyone else is at the game?", Lindsay asks, "My dad is going with Fairy Tail and my mom is going with me and Twilight Ogre so that leaves no one to keep an eye on you."

"I think you're forgetting the fact that I been particularly taking care of myself most of my life seeing how my parents don't pay that much attention to me", Romeo said, "I think I'll be fine."

Lindsay laughs once again and Romeo thought he saw her cheeks redden a bit as she diverted her eyes away from his.

"You know, I bet if I ask my mom she could afford to take you along with us", she said in a quiet voice that Romeo barely even heard, "You know, that way you can catch the games and wouldn't be stuck here by yourself."

Romeo had to think for a moment making sure he heard her right. For as long as he could remember she has always been best friends with Juliet and Rosalina, even despite the fact they joined separate guilds. From what he thought he and Lindsay were only friends by default.

" _Guess she's just trying to be nice",_ Romeo thought, "Thanks for the offer but I can't miss any more days at school."

For a sec, Romeo swore he saw a look of disappointment flash across the girl's face; one moment it was there the next it was gone as she waves goodbye.

"Okay then, catch you when I get back, our train leaves in the morning and I have to finish packing", she said as she was about to close her window but then stop.

"Hey, Romeo?", the girl asks.

"What is it now?" he answered.

"I also heard you were talking with that Wendy chick while you were skipping school", Lindsay stated in a quiet voice.

"I was."

"Soooooo", Lindsay said, "What do you think of her?"

 _"What the hell is this crap now?",_ Romeo thought, "She seems alright, I guess. She's a nice person but that's about it."

"Oh okay", Lindsay said, hoping she didn't sound too excited to Romeo, "Catch you later."

"Yeah okay", Romeo said as he started moving toward his house once more, luckily he lived right next door to Mine's house. As he searches his pockets for the house key, something catches his eye down the road.

About two houses down from him was a man with short blond hair along with ocean blue eyes, standing there while dressed in a black and white business suit. And by black and white it was literally one side all black while the other half was all white. Even the tie he was wearing was split down the middle by the colors and he was wearing one black shoe and one white shoe along with matching gloves.

"Who is that?", Romeo wonders aloud as he stops looking for the keys and instead focuses on the man who was now starting to walk toward him and Romeo found himself unable to take his eyes off of him. Not in a homosexual way mind you, but more like he was under a spell which made him focus all of his attention solely on that man. The man stroll at a leisurely pace in Romeo's direction never once breaking eye contact with him. Before Romeo knew it the man was standing at the bottom of the stairwell that led up to the Conbolt's household.

"Excuse me, son", the man asks, snapping Romeo out of his trance, " Could you tell me where I can find the market?"

It takes a moment for Romeo to realize that the man was talking to him.

"Oh, sorry about that", Romeo apologizes as he shook his head a little, " _What was all that?"_

"Are you okay, son?", the man asks.

Romeo blinks for a moment before answering, "Yeah, I think I'm fine."

"I certainly hope so", the man voice, "For if not then this is going to be way harder than I thought it would be, but also way more fun", he says as he takes Romeo by the hand and the next thing the boy knew he was falling through the clouds.

 **A/N: So I hope you guys like it. Also, would like to point out you guys that that was Romeo and Wendy's first time meeting each other face to face.**

 **Two things that have come up in PM's and reviews:**

 **Does Mira hate Romeo? No, she was busy helping the guild get ready to leave, and yet she was tasked with going to find Romeo, you be a little piss off too.**

 **Is Romeo neglected by his parents? No, Neglectful parents don't make sure their child has an education. They still care for him, it is just that Romeo is merely the unfavorite due to his lack of magic. Being the middle child myself, I know what it is like. Remember, there is a difference between being neglected and not being the favorite.**

 **Juliet- Same size as Romeo, with long purple hair that goes down past her shoulders. Has purple eyes like her mother and prefer to wear a blue skirt along with a green blouse and sandals. Excel in long-range magic spells. Black guild mark on her right hand.**

 **Rosalina- More tomboyish, has short purple hair, purple eyes and prefers to wear blue shorts and a green tank top with sneakers. Excel in hand-to-hand combat and close-range magic spells. White guild mark on her left hand.**

 **Romeo- Same as the anime/manga, only he wears faded black jeans and wears a red t-shirt with the words "Rebel without a cause" on the front of it, also wears sneakers instead of sandals. Kinda a smartass.**

 **Please Review, Fav, or Follow if you want.**


	2. The Choice Is Yours

**Disclaimers: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

 **A/N: Finally got an update on this story. Hope you enjoy it.**

 **Please feel free to check out _Wild Master, Fiery Hurricane of Love, Right Claw of the Dragon King, and Romeo Rising,_ whenever you get the chance.**

 **The chapter was beta-ed by _Conbolt is Fire._**

 **Please Review, Fav, or Follow if you want.**

 **P.S.: Going to be working on my Ranger series stories now as well as my Warframe fic, for a time now.**

 **Chapter 2**

 **The Choice is Yours**

Romeo's eyes snap open and he sits straight up with a shout.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" rings out as it takes a second for him to realize that he was now in his own room, sitting up in his own bed, and a moment after he screamed, his door flies open and he is greeted by the sight of his twin sisters who looked like they have seen better days or slept better nights, quite frankly Romeo thought they looked the same regardless.

"Will you shut up?!" Juliet snaps as she chucks a pillow at him from the doorway, "Some of us got to catch a train in the morning!"

"Seriously! What's it that got you screaming at three in the morning?!" Rosalina yelled as she and her sister stomped into the room.

"I had a nightmare about seeing you two in dresses and acting like proper ladies. The shock of seeing something so unbelievable was enough to send me screaming", Romeo lies and waits for their predictable response. As his dark room suddenly lights up, he smiles.

"What was that you said?" Juliet threatens as tiny flames dance around her fingertips and Rosalina's fist became engulfed in fire.

"You heard me" Romeo declares, "So what are you going to do about it?"

"Don't push your luck with us", Rosalina threaten, "Just because mom and dad said that we can't use magic on you doesn't mean we still can't kick your butt."

"The last dozen or so times you both try to fight me and ended up on the floor say otherwise", Romeo reminded them, "Without your magic, you suck in a fight."

"Why you son of a-", Rosalina growls.

"Is that any way to speak of our dear old mother?", Romeo smiles.

Rosalina growls as both her arms become covered in fire, but before she could do anything, she was stopped by the eldest Conbolt sibling.

"Enough, Rosalina. We got an early train to catch in three hours", Juliet all but ordered, "So we're going back to sleep."

"But he-", Rosalina try to argue.

"Or would you rather stay here in Magnolia with him? Because that is going to happen if mom and dad wake up", Juliet hiss, stopping all argument.

"Fine", Rosalina says, but still throw a glare at her brother, "You got lucky this time."

"I'll be lucky when I'm finally old enough to move out and never see you two again", was Romeo responds as the door closes, once more leaving him alone in a dark room. As he lays back down and looks up at the ceiling, his mind is a jumble of thoughts….

"Last thing I remember I was falling from the sky and before that I was talking to that strange man", Romeo voice aloud, "Did I simply imagine everything?"

The thought plagues his mind for what seemed like forever. It felt so real, so vivid, but yet he was laying in his own bed without a scratch on him.

" _Maybe it all was just a dream",_ as he tosses and turns, " _Oh well, least I got a extra pillow out of it."_

 **The Next Morning**

"Alright, time to go to Crocus and kick major butt! I'm all fired up!", Natsu roars as he pumps a fist into the sky while Rosalina and Juliet look on with stars in their eyes.

"Idiot. Crocus is a twelve-hour train ride away, think you can survive it?", Gray wonders and as expected, Natsu was in his face a moment later and another argument broke out between the two mages as the rest of Fairy Tail carrying on while waiting to board the train.

"Now are you sure Romeo will be okay while he's left alone at your house?", Master Makarov asks Macao and Enno as they sat down at one of the station's benches, "Surely, we could cough up enough money for him to come as well. I'm pretty sure I have some save up somewhere."

"Thank you for the offer, Master Makarov", Enno spoke.

"But Romeo has already missed too many days of school and if he misses any more, he'll be held back a grade", Macao explained.

"But with Millgana going as well, who will watch him?", Makarov wondered.

"We have other friends in town who will check up on him every day and we have given his teachers our hotel number to call us in case something happens at school", Enno assure him.

Makarov lets out a breath, "He used to be such a nice boy before Tenrou, I can't help but wondered what happen to him."

"Puberty, maybe?", Macao shrugs.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the station, Wendy is on the lookout for a certain someone to show up…

" _I hope he makes it here. He seemed like a really nice person",_ she tells herself while trying to fight the weird feeling that had been swelling up in her chest since yesterday morning. Suddenly a voice rings out behind her...

"Wendy, what are you doing?", Carla asks as she glides over to her charge, "You been standing over here looking around ever since we got here."

"I'm waiting for someone, Carla", the girl answers as she turns her head to her.

"Who? Everyone we know in Magnolia is already here", Carla points out.

"Someone I met yesterday while walking around", Wendy explains as she returns to her task, "I was hoping he would come see us off."

"He?", Carla's ears perk up, "What do you mean "He"?"

Wendy could now feel Carla's heated glare, burning holes into her back, "J-Just a friend", she stutters out.

Carla moves around Wendy until she is hovering right in front of her, her eyes locked with the girl's, "What have I told you about hanging out with people I haven't met, especially boys?"

"He was nice enough to me yesterday and technically you already have met him", Wendy answers.

"Boys are only nice to you because they want something", Carla lectures, "And besides, if I have already met them before, then you should have no problem telling me their name."

"She was talking about me and quite frankly, you should probably stay out of her business", a voice from behind says and Carla turns around and comes face-to-face with Romeo, "Just saying."

"And who are you?", Carla asks with an annoyed tone.

"Romeo, you made it! I thought you said you wouldn't come!", Wendy rejoices as she moves past Carla and toward the boy. Inadvertently, she clasps her hands behind her back and began rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, a slight blush on her face. A blush that did not go unnoticed by Carla

" _Oh, s_ _o that what this is",_ Carla thought as Romeo spoke to Wendy.

"Don't look too deep into it, I was thinking about just sleeping in but since I was already up thanks to my family making a ton of noise this morning as they were leaving, I figure I might as well come", Romeo explains as he noticed Carla giving him the stink-eye.

"Aren't you Macao and Enno's son, Juliet and Rosalina's brother?", Carla asks.

"Oh, so you do remember me", Romeo answers in mock surprise.

"I recall seeing you in passing, and I've heard your name once or twice in the guild hall", Carla admits, "Though that doesn't explain why you're here."

"Weren't you listening? She asks me to show", Romeo says as he points at Wendy.

"You didn't come here to see your family off?", Carla asks and was surprised to receive a laugh in return.

"Oh man, that's rich! You're funny!", Romeo chuckles as he spots his mom and dad coming over to them, " _Of course."_

"Romeo, what are you doing here? You should be at school right now!", Macao screamed, but this didn't faze Romeo in the slightest because he has gotten used to it.

"Well...dad, if you pay a little more attention to my education and less to drinking and my sisters, you would know that school doesn't start for two hours", Romeo replied.

"Don't you get smart with me-", Macao began to say before…

"Romeo, my lad!", Makarov shouts as he appears in front of the boy, "It has been too long since I've seen you! Come, come, we must catch up with one another!", he has as he grabs Romeo by the hand and leads him away, "Wendy, you must come along as well! I rarely get to talk to the younger generation nowadays!"

Romeo throws a confused look over his shoulder at Wendy who merely shrugs as she starts to follow them. As Makarov led Romeo away from the station (and his father) the boy looks toward the other Fairy Tail mages and easily notices the looks that were being thrown his way. Thankfully, he couldn't hear some of the whispers being said.

"What's Romeo doing here?", Max asks, "I thought he wasn't going to Crocus."

"I think he's here to see us off", Nab answers.

"Seriously? I can count on one hand how many times Romeo has come to the guild hall over the past few years and I would still have fingers left over", Droy adds in.

"Maybe he's here to see off Wendy", Bisca states, "The girl seemed pretty excited to see him."

"You don't think?", Alzack wonder…

"When's the last time anyone of us have pay attention to Romeo or Wendy's personal life? And Mira did mention yesterday that she found them together when she went out looking for the kid", Jet chimes in.

"I didn't know anything about this and Wendy hasn't said a thing about it.", Lucy confirms, "And she, Levy, and I went out on a job yesterday."

"Though she was quieter than usual and she looked like she was deep in thought about something; And like Bisca said, she looked really happy to see him just now", Levy spoke up.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Levy?", Lucy asks.

"It couldn't be", Levy answered as she covered her mouth.

"But I think it is", Lucy carry on as Erza appeared next to her.

"Are you saying that our dear friend, Wendy, has had her maiden's heart stolen by Romeo?", the Requip Knight asks.

"I believe it's love at first sight!", Mira squealed, "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew something was going on between those two when I found them, but I couldn't say anything because I had to be all serious to make sure Romeo went to school! Ah, why did he have to skip so many days? I would have gladly paid for his ticket and room if only to work my love magic on those two!"

"You'll have your chance, big sis", Lisanna comfort her, "We can get them together when we get back."

Mira hangs her head in defeat, "I guess we can wait a few days."

"At least she won't have to worry about her love rival making a move while she's gone", Juvia states, causing everyone to snap their necks in her direction.

"What?!"

"Wendy's love rival, Wakaba's daughter, Lindsay", Juvia explain as though she was commenting the weather, "Juvia-chan has seen the way she watches Romeo whenever they're near one another. It quite obvious the girl has her heart set on him."

….

….

"Well, if it's coming from Juvia, then it might just be true", Kinana says after a moment of silence.

"The boy has two girls vying for his heart and from the looks of it, he doesn't even notice it", Bickslow says as he points over to where Romeo was currently sitting with Master Makarov and Wendy, the boy utterly failing to notice the blush that was starting to radiate across the girl's face from being in such a close proximity to him.

"How have things been, Romeo?", Makarov smiles, "Why, the last time I got to sit down and talk to you, you were my size!"

"I'm going to assume that's a joke seeing how you can grow to the size of a mountain and shrink to the size of a baby", Romeo smiles, "But anyway, I been okay."

"That's wonderful to hear", Makarov laughs, "Now it seems that Wendy was waiting for you to show up; I didn't realize that you two were friends."

"We just met yesterday while I was skipping school", Romeo admitted, not ashamed one bit.

"While I happy that you two are getting along, you really should attend all your classes, Romeo. This is your future we're talking about here", Makarov lecture the boy.

"A future that can't get here soon enough", Romeo mumbles but both Makarov and Wendy still hear it.

"I have been told by both your parents and sisters that you plan on leaving Magnolia once you graduated", Makarov informed Romeo who nodded.

"You heard right, I'm leaving Magnolia, in fact, I'm leaving Ishgar and traveling to the far east where I've heard there are countries there where magic is not an essential way of life as is here", Romeo explains, "I figure I could see what they have to offer me there."

"I see", Makarov said, "And there's no changing your mind on this? Graduation is still a long way away."

"Too long if you ask me", Romeo complained.

Makarov was going to turn his attention to Wendy, who in his eyes suddenly looked a little downtrodden. He was going to inquire what was wrong with her when suddenly the train horn sounded and the conductor yelled out, "All Aboard! This train final destination is the capital city of Crocus!"

"It seems it's time for us to board", Master Makarov said as he got up, "Come along now, Wendy! You as well, Romeo, to say your goodbyes!"

"I only came because Wendy asks me too. Didn't really come for anyone else", Romeo is quick to point out as the trio departed to the station, the young Conbolt boy never noticing the glowing cheeks on the Sky Dragon-Slayer's face at the mention of the fact that she was the only reason he was here. She gave small thanks to the gods that Romeo couldn't hear her frantically beating heart and even greater thanks to them for letting him make the better choice of even coming this morning.

Just as the trio was getting back to the train station, Romeo suddenly feels a hand place on each of his shoulders and he is jerked out to the side. He turns to face his attackers and is none to surprise to see it that they were his sisters.

"Why, dear Juliet, dear Rosalina, whatever do you need of me?", he questioned in a mocking courteous voice.

"Cut the crap, we need to talk", Julia growled as she led Romeo away while Rosalina explained to Master Makarov and Wendy that the sisters had a personal matter to tell their brother about.

A moment later the three Conbolt siblings were having an oh-so-familiar stare off.

"Why are you really here?", Rosalina asks, catching Romeo a tad off-guard.

"Pardon?", was Romeo's response as Juliet repeated the question.

"Why-are-you-really-here?"

"Wendy asked me yesterday to come see Fairy Tail off", Romeo answers honestly.

"And you decided to do it, just like that?", Rosalina inquired.

"Is there a problem with that; or are you simply mad that I came because Wendy asks me to?", Romeo asked.

Juliet and Rosalina stare at Romeo for a time, before shaking their heads simultaneously.

"Whatever", Juliet mumbles as she turns to leave, Rosalina following soon behind her.

"Well…that was awkward", Romeo said a few moments later as he made his way to the train.

Moments later, Romeo is standing alone on top of the platform watching the train departs and he spies Wendy feverishly waving at him as the locomotive got smaller and smaller while Romeo mildly waves back.

"Gods, she's energetic. Oh well, best start heading to school now", Romeo grumbles as he turns around to leave…

Only to immediately notice that something was wrong...very wrong.

As he observes the area around him he notices that the swinging train station sign, set in motion by the force of the locomotion departing the station, had stopped mid-swing at an angle which seemed impossible. He caught sight of the ticket master at his station, stop while in the process of closing his booth and it looked like he wasn't finishing the job anytime soon. He saw a pair of birds that were flying through the station that were now as still as statues in the air.

Everything was frozen in place and when Romeo turns to see the train that just left, it too was as still as a painting, its smokestack reminding Romeo of a picture he once saw as a younger child.

"What's going on?", Romeo asks himself and is surprised when he hears a voice answer back to him.

"Wonders of wonders, this is the second time you have kept calm in an extreme scenario. First, there was the falling through the sky and now this", and Romeo reels around and once again comes face-to-face with the man he saw yesterday, same black and white suit and all, "Either you are completely unfazed by the reality of it or your mind simply hasn't fully comprehended the situation you're in."

….

…..

…

Silence passes between the two before…

"You know, this is usually the part when you're supposed to demand answers, go on a rant, perhaps attack me, or even run away", the man states, "I mean, do something here."

Romeo blinks rapidly at the man for a moment before speaking, "And what would that accomplish? I have nothing within arm's reach of me that I could use as a weapon. Unlike the rest of my family, I can't do magic, and the magic you possess seems to be able to freeze everything in place. What could I possibly have at my disposal that could make you do anything?"

Now it was the man in black and white turn to stare amazingly at the boy for a few scant seconds before speaking to the air around him, "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you? Giving me the one kid who's no fun at all, huh?"

"Who are you talking to?", Romeo asks as he lifts an eyebrow in confusion while scanning the surrounding for anyone else who wasn't frozen in time.

"That's not important", the man waves him off, "What is important is that I need you on that train that is bound for...Crocus, was it? Anyway, I need you to be there when this little magic games of yours goes down."

"You know, for a guy who seems to possess a pretty powerful magic, you sure aren't very smart now, are you?", Romeo asks as he throws a thumb over his shoulder, "Even if you release your spell, there's nothing that could get me on that train, especially when I'm not supposed to be on it in the first place.

The man snaps in fingers, as though he had finally remembered something, "Oh, that's right. I was supposed to fix that. I knew I had to do something else yesterday", as the man slaps his hands together and withdrew them. Appearing in the space between his palms was a light blue sphere of some sorts that seem to dance with an array of flashes and lights as Romeo sees a maze of solid streams of white crisscross the interior of it with every passing second, a multitude of lights pulses within it going off. As the boy stares in amazement, he hears the man speak whilst the sphere hung in mid-air.

"Okay, let's see here", as he put both his hands into globe-like objects, "Where to begin? Oh, here we go!"

The man pulls one of his hand out and twirls it around, doing so seem to produce an oozing green slim out of thin air which he threw into the sphere and it disappears in a heartbeat, "A little common cold to add to the fold."

Next, the stranger snaps his fingers and a small pouch materializes in thin air, landing in his hand with a familiar jiggle that Romeo knew was the sound of coins and it too gets toss into the sphere, "A little extra money lying around the house."

"What are you doing?", was all Romeo could say as he watched the spectacle.

"I need you in Crocus a little early, so let's fix that check-in time, shall we?", the man tells himself as he pulls what seems like a book out of the sphere and after a wave of his hand, places it back in, "I feel there's something I'm forgetting, but I can't remember what."

He taps his chin as he tries to recall something, "That's right, I need a place for myself along with a near-full compartment", as he now starts moves his fingers in a manner that resembled a puppeteer putting on a show. A moment later, he pulls his hands out of the sphere.

"That should cover everything! And here...", he says as he places his hands on both sides of the sphere, "We...", as he brings them together, the globe of energy disappearing while doing so, "Go!" as he finally snaps his fingers and Romeo's vision is engulfed by a bright light.

"Romeo! Romeo!", is suddenly ringing in both his ears and the boy's eyes snap open and he finds himself still standing on the train platform, Juliet and Rosalina yelling into his ears.

"Get your stuff and get on the train, move it!", Rosalina yells as she grabs her own bag and passes under the door, leaving behind a bewildered Romeo who stares downward and sees a bag of his own. It was then he noticed that it was the dead of night, with a full moon out and everything.

"What?", Romeo wonders.

"Get on the train, idiot", Juliet says, "It's too late at night for your shenanigans."

"Why am I getting on the train again?", Romeo asks, only to have Juliet throws him a baffled stare.

"Has your brain not caught up with the rest of your body or are you just being stupid again? Master Makarov got a call a few hours ago from the hotel in Crocus stating that we have to check in by noon or else lose our rooms, so we have to leave on an earlier train. And in case you also forgot, Crocus is a half a day train ride away", Juliet explains as she stifles a yawn, "Now shut up and get on the train, mom and dad are waiting for us."

Romeo turns his head from side to side, taking in all of his surroundings. He sees the rest of the Fairy Tail guild struggling to get on the train, their eyelids heavy with sleep as they stumbled onto the locomotive. Even mighty Erza, who even Romeo knows is one of the strongest mages around, is barely awaken as she merely slaps both Gray and Natsu in the head for starting another argument instead of her usual act of drawing a sword on them.

Romeo feels a tug on his shirt from behind and turns to be greeted by a groggily Wendy who despite the current mood of everyone, including Carla, had a slight smile on her face.

"It's great that you get to come to the games with us, Romeo", she tells him, though deep down she was also grateful for no moon being out tonight or else the boy might have spotted the slight blush on her cheeks.

"Yeah, about that", Romeo begins as he continues glances around, "How again did my parents change their minds about me going?"

Wendy's face contorts into confusion for a moment before she answers, "Well, your mom and dad did change their minds at literally the last minute, which was understandable given the circumstances."

"What circumstances?", Romeo asks and sees Carla pop up next to him.

"Do you live under a rock or something?", she started out, "Your school has been closed since yesterday ever since almost all the staff and students came down with the flu, along with a good portion of the town."

"Including our friends who were supposed to keep an eye on you", Macao finishes as he gets off the train looking for his son, "Your mom and I thought about it for a minute but decided that there was no way we're going to let you stay by yourself for almost a week without no supervision whatsoever."

"Wow, loving the trust there, dad _",_ Romeo says, ignoring the glare Macao threw at him, "And where exactly did you round up the extra jewels to pay for my ticket and such."

"It just so happens we found an extra bag of jewels lying around the house, so we're using that to pay for you", Macao answers and now it was Romeo who was happy that it was dark outside or else his father would have caught him glaring menacingly at him.

" _Make it sounds like you didn't have any money to spare to pay for me in the first place",_ Romeo thinks but before he has time to dwell on it, he sees the strange man from before walk past him and the small group that had gathered and he swore he saw a slight grin on the man's face.

" _There he is again. Wait a minute, the words he said from before. About a common cold, extra money lying around the house, earlier check-in time; all that came to fruition",_ Romeo thought as he watches him give his ticket to the conductor and strolls on in, " _And a ticket for himself. How did he do all this? Am I somehow still dreaming?"_

Before Romeo could dwell any further into his thoughts about this his attention is drawn to the Sky Dragon-Slayer next to him who is starting to wobble a little.

"You okay there?"

"Oh", Wendy tries to reply before she has to cover up a yawn, "I'm fine...I got back from a job earlier today with Levy and Lucy and didn't get much sleep before coming here."

"Then we should probably get on the train then", Romeo suggests as he grabs his bag and moves toward the doorway, Wendy, Carla, and Macao following behind him.

As Romeo stows his luggage in the overhead compartment, he notices that the section of the train that the guild was using was almost filled to capacity, with barely a single sit open. Even his family was crowded in their own little seating aisle alongside Wakaba and Master Makarov whilst everyone else sat elsewhere. He only saw two seats open and that were at opposite ends of the train car. One was by Wendy who was sharing with Alzack, Bisca, and Asuka, as the two parents prepared a temporarily sleeping area for the little girl, while the other was by some miraculous coincidence was right across from the man in black and white himself. Surprisingly enough, he was the only one in his seating arrangement yet no one has bothered to go sit in it.

" _And a near-full compartment. Is this guy a Wizard Saint or something? No, Master Makarov would have recognized him if he did, so who is he?",_ Romeo thought he narrows his eyes at the man, he merely nods back at him with a smile on his lips. Romeo's focus on him was so intense that he didn't even notice Wendy calling out to him and the girl had to resort to tugging on his sleeves to get his attention, snapping the boy out of his trance.

"You going to sit down? The train about to leave", she states as she once again stifles a yawn. Romeo glances at the man in black and white once more as he sits down next to Wendy, a thousand thoughts going through his head.

" _Should I tell the others? Could they even do anything if I did? I clearly remember being at the train station this morning, so why does no one else? Is this all just one powerful illusion?",_ he ponders before he started to feel his eyelids get heavy, " _Wait a minute, why am I tired? I was wide awake a few moments…ago...",_ as the cousin of death embrace him.

"Well, now that I think about it, living in a world full of magic and not being able to cast any yourself would more than likely steel your mind against the strange and unknown.", a voice rings out, disrupting Romeo's sleep as his eyes flutter awake and he finds himself surrounded by endless white, and the man in black and white was standing no more than a few feet from him, "You're just gotten used to it, I guess."

"Where am I?", was Romeo first question as he surveys his environment.

"It's theorized that a person can have between three to five dreams a night, sometimes maybe even more", the man started to explain, "Where we are right now is the space between dreams, right where one dream ends and the other has yet to begin. I figure we might as well have a conversation here seeing how you choose not to talk to me on the train, which we are still on by the way and don't worry, everyone is soundly sleeping."

"Huh, wonder why I didn't want to talk to you? Let's see, a stranger shows up out of nowhere, sends me falling through the sky, stops time around me, make me go on a trip, which by the way as long as I'm being honest here, didn't want to go on in the first place because I was looking forward to having the house to myself for a couple of days, basically warps reality around him", Romeo softly rants off, "Or for all I know, this could all be just one giant illusion spell cast by Mira or whoever and I'm still lying in the meadow watching the clouds go by."

"Oh, I assure you, this isn't anything close to magic", the man said as he started walking upward as though he was going up a flight of stairs, "Your Ten Wizard Saints ain't got nothing on me, neither does that Zeref guy ya'll seem to make a big deal out of here for some reason. Oh no, he's the most powerful dark mage ever; yeah, so was that no-nose Voldemort guy and he got defeated by a kid who hadn't even graduated from his magic school yet."

But Romeo wasn't paying attention to the man's rant as he could do nothing more than watch in amazement as he now began to walk on what could only be an invisible surface, only now he was standing upside down in mid-air, looking down onto the boy.

"You see Romeo, I-"

"I never told you my name", the boy interrupts after snapping out of his trance, "So how do you know who I am?"

The man is quiet for a moment before a smile appears on his face, "Do you want the real answer or the made-up, bullcrap one?"

Romeo only stares up at him in silence.

"Alright then, I could simply say I just asked around town or checked public records, but in reality, the truth is I already know everything about you", he began.

"I find that hard to believe. I don't have a public magic profile and information in school records are kept to a minimum, trust me, I've seen my a few times already", Romeo countered.

"Romeo Conbolt, age 14, born in X777, to Macao Conbolt and Enno Conbolt formerly Sutnaal. Middle brother to Juliet Conbolt and Rosalina Conbolt", the man continued.

"Anyone who has lived in Magnolia long enough knows that", Romeo says, unimpressed.

"Has been absent a good number of days from school, yet somehow manages an above average grade-level. Spends at least two weeks a month in detention, mostly due to said truancy as well as fighting in school. Teachers have noted that despite your lack of attention in class, you seem to retain knowledge pretty well, you just lack focus and drive."

"Oookay", Romeo says, his expression now mirroring one who was starting to get uncomfortable, "T-that was some good detective work there, but still doesn't prove you know everything about me. If you're trying to impress me, tell me something that only I know."

"Your parents dotted on your sisters at an early age once they display their gifts in magic. You knew what the feeling of hate and resentment was long before any other normal kid did. Deep down, you direct these feelings not just at your parents and sisters, but to almost everyone who can wield magic", the man said as he started to rotate in mid-air and bring himself to an upright position just before he began to float slowly down toward Romeo, "There are only a couple mages who you hold in a non-negative light. One is Master Makarov, who treated you no different than your sisters, sometimes better. The second is the next-door girl, Lindsay Mine, who you feel is a rebellious kin of yours seeing how she joined a different guild despite what her parents wanted. And last, but certainly, not least is a new addition, Wendy Marvell, the Sky-Dragon Slayer, who you feel is an "alright person", and deep down wouldn't mind getting to know better."

Romeo was completely floored by the man's statement and found himself unable to move.

"But how about we dig a little deeper, shall we? Into those thought and memories that even you don't want to admit to yourself sometimes", the stranger says as he reaches ground level and was now standing over the young Conbolt teenager, "Let's go back to X784 where a grieving Enno, Juliet, and Rosalina are waiting at the guild hall, hoping that the chivalrous trio of Natsu Dragneel, Happy the Exceed, and Lucy Heartfilia, will be successful in finding Macao Conbolt, who was running a little late coming back from job that was supposed to only take three days to complete, but he had been missing for a week."

Movement returns to Romeo as his hands clench up into fists, "Don't you dare", he growls.

"And glory to the gods, they succeeded in rescuing your father and the whole family rejoices! You know, everyone who actually cared that he was missing. But not you, oh no, you really couldn't care less. Even to this day, in fact, when you glared at him at the train station not even an hour ago, you once again wished that he died on that mountain all those years ago. Because despite all the animosity you have toward your mother and sisters, it pales in comparison to the hatred you have for your father", the man finishes, is voice never raising nor lowering but standing completely neutral.

And Romeo's glare did nothing to stop the man from getting in one last word...

"I personally have only seen this level of hatred toward a family member in one other person. If it was entirely up to me, I wouldn't even be here right now and you be back in Magnolia, but orders are orders. But now you have reached the first fork in the road on your journey."

"What journey?" Romeo seethes, "Who the hell are you?"

"You still have a good amount of time before you reach Crocus and now you have a decision to make. If you wish to learn who I am and why I'm here, as soon as you awaken, come sit across from me and I will explain everything. If you choose to simply wish that I had never shown up and brought to light these dark emotions, simply stay seated where you are and once the train pulls in to Crocus, you will never see me again. In fact, I'll go one step further, just because I'm a nice guy. I'll make it to where our first meeting never even happened. The choice is yours", as the man claps his hands and once again Romeo's visions is engulfed, only this time by darkness.

Romeo jolts awake, sweat pouring from his brow and he was breathing heavily as he quickly scans everything around him. He finds that the man was right about everyone being asleep, even the people who weren't a part of the guild were knock out in the train compartment.

He feels pressure on his left shoulder and when he turns his attention toward the source of it, he was surprised to see that Wendy was resting her head on top of it. Romeo found his nostrils simply overwhelm with the scent of her hair, which smelled of lavender, and he found him getting a little hot under the collar at the close proximity she was to him. Her soft breathing was starting to sound like a lullaby and he once again was starting to fall asleep before he caught himself.

" _Focus, Romeo",_ he tells himself as his eyes fall upon the near-empty compartment seat at the end of the train cart. He wasn't surprised when he sees the man in black and white still sitting there, wide awake, smiling at him. As if beckoning him to make a move, he opens his hand out in Romeo's direction and Romeo recalls the last words the man said…

 ** _"The choice is yours."_**

Romeo gently eases Wendy off of his shoulder, careful not to wake the girl, as he gets up and softy places her head on the armrest. For a moment, he finds himself watching her sleep before snapping out of it. He looks down the aisle and sees the man now reading a book with a bored expression on his face and when Romeo finally takes a seat in front of him, the novel vanishes into thin air.

"She's a nice girl, isn't she?", he says as he briefly turns his glance toward Wendy down the aisle, "Reminds me of my wife. Well, given who my wife is, I guess that could-",

"Who are you and what do you want?", Romeo asks, this time with a little more force behind his voice.

"Straight to the questions, huh? Annoying in a way, but I like the initiative and the fact that you're focused on a goal. Those are great qualities to have", the man starts rambling off, before stopping himself, "But I digress. First off, my name. It's actually not that simple for you see I am known by many titles and names. I'm considered the alpha, the first one, the Father of Humanity, and in the Hinduism religion, for example, I am called Manu."

" _What is Hinduism?",_ Romeo briefly wonders before seeing the man reach out with a hand and placing two fingers on the boy's forehead.

Romeo's mind is bombarded with a stream of images and he could only make out the bare minimum due to the speed at which the images were appearing. A lush garden, a paradise if you will. A man, the same man sitting across from him, naked as the day he was born, sitting alone amongst a throng of different animals. Next, there appears a woman whose only cover was her long locks of hair and she provides companionship to the man. There's a tree in the middle of the garden with bountiful apples growing on it. Romeo sees a snake, tempting the woman into picking one of the apples and taking a bite out of it.

"What the-?", Romeo lets out as now he sees the man taking a bite out of the apple as well. Fast forward through a blur of images and he sees the man and woman leaving the garden into the desolate unknown, regrettably looking back at it and watching in anguish as it fades from their sight, lost forever in the torments of time.

The man pulls his fingers back and Romeo finds himself gripping the armrest in an effort to steady himself as he tries to calm down.

"What was that?", Romeo says, more to himself while at the same time asking the man across from him.

"That, my dear boy, was the origins of humanity and the beginning of its downfall. What you witness was the first ever sin committed by a human. Like I said before, I go by many names, but for you...", as the man finally takes off his hat and places it to the side, "You can simply call me Adam."

 **A/N:** **Please Review, Fav, or Follow if you want and check out** ** _Wild Master, Fiery Hurricane of Love, Right Claw of the Dragon King, and Romeo Rising,_ whenever you get the chance.**

 **Off I go to my Ranger series stories now as well as my Warframe fic.**


	3. Can't Say No To A Pretty Face

**Disclaimers: I do not own Fairy Tail.**

 **A/N: So I'm working on _Fiery Hurricane_ when I realize that this story had gotten a little popular since I last updated it. According to some reviews and PM, it has a unique concept to it, much like _Wild Master._**

 **Also, let's get some things straight:**

 **1\. Romeo doesn't not like Fairy Tail in this story. He likes Master Makarov, Wendy, and though it hasn't been shown yet, respects Porlyusica due to her kind of being in the same boat as him. But he dislikes Fairy Tail as a whole** **and for a number of the guild, the feeling is mutual, mostly because of his attitude toward them. It's because he didn't grow up in Fairy Tail and his family hasn't been exactly helpful about him changing his opinion.**

 **2\. Natsu is not his idol in this story, therefore he has a low opinion of him**.

 **3\. Romeo is kind of a dick in this story. Seeing how he is the unfavorite, can't blame him**

 **Please Review, Fav, or Follow, if you want.**

 **Also check out, _Wild Master, Fiery Hurricane,_ _Romeo Rising,_ and _Right Claw._**

 **Can't Say No To A Pretty Face**

"Adam?", Romeo repeats, "That seems like a pretty ordinary name."

The man shakes his head, "Trust me, kid. I'm everything but ordinary."

Adam then looks out the window, watching the moon as it hung high in the sky, "Plus, I'm on a busy schedule so let's hurry this along", as he snapped his fingers and a white light envelope everything with Romeo's line of sight.

The loud sound of a train whistle is the next thing Romeo hears as blinding sunlight hits him in the eyes. He turns his head to the left and was astonished to see a bustling train station through the window.

In fact, far pass the station he spotted the Royal Castle of Fiore, Mercurius.

"Wait a freaking minute, we just left Magnolia a few minutes ago! It's at least a twelve-hour train ride to Crocus!", Romeo states as he snaps back to Adam who was just sitting there while sipping a martini that wasn't there before and reading the same book from earlier which he saw was entitled: **War and Peace.**

"Hey, are you paying attention to me?! I'm talking to you!", Romeo shouts.

"Romeo!", he hears from behind and the boy turns to see his entire family standing there with scowls on their faces with Macao in particular fuming, "Why are you disrupting this nice man?"

Macao then turns to Adam who was just now putting his book and drink down, "I apologize for my son's behavior."

Romeo was about to say something when Adam beat him to the punch, "Oh, it's no trouble. Your son has actually been keeping me company for a majority of the trip."

"He has?", Macao says, clearly not expecting an answer like that. Also because he didn't quite remember seeing Romeo talking to this man at all during the train ride but then again Macao and the rest of the Conbolt went to sleep in Magnolia and were now just waking up alongside the rest of the guild, so who knows?

"Oh yes, Romeo here is quite an intelligent young lad who has a very particular view on the world that I find most interesting", Adam went on.

"He is?", Juliet and Rosalina both says and Romeo stealthily flips them the bird.

"Quite", Adam says as he gets up and extends his hand to Macao, "Adam Primis."

Macao takes the man's hand and gives him a firm handshake, "Macao Conbolt", and he then points to the girls, "And this is my wife, Enno, and our two daughters, "Juliet and Rosalina."

Enno gives a slight nod and the twins simply wave.

"A pleasure to meet you and your family, Mr. Conbolt", he says as he tips his hat toward Enno and the girls.

"Thank you, Mr….Primis, was it?", Macao asks, "That doesn't sound like any Fiorian name that I ever heard."

"Oh, my family originates from the eastern borders of the Pergrande Kingdom", Adam explains but Romeo knew that was total crap.

"Ah, I see", Macao nods.

"Are you here on business here in the capital?", Adam asks as he finally stands up.

"We are here for the Grand Magic Games with our guild", Enno answers as she comes alongside Macao and Romeo notices that the rest of the guild was now getting off of the train though he did notice Wendy linger around a bit by the exit once she was on the platform.

"Aw, yes, the games. You know what? Despite living here, I always seem to be gone when they come around, family and business matters, mind you", Adam explains as he looks out at the crowds of people in front of the train, "In fact, this will be my first time actually being here for them."

"Well, then I hope you have a wonderful time", Macao says as he looks down at Romeo, "We must be going to catch up with our guild."

And with that Macao and the Conbolt's girls turn to exit the train leaving Romeo alone with Adam.

"You're full of shit, you know that?", Romeo says as soon as they exit, trying not to think too hard on how his entire family just left him alone with a man they just met.

"It comes with the job", Adam admitted as he walks by, "I'll be seeing you later. For now, enjoy the capital."

Romeo then watches in amazement as Adam merely claps and vanishes into thin air as if he was never there. He then notices that the book and drink had also disappeared.

The young boy from Magnolia merely stands there for a few moments taking everything that had just happen in before shaking his head and walking toward the exit, grabbing his luggage along the way, "Starting to see why some people take up drinking."

He had to admit though that he was somewhat surprised to find Wendy waiting for him as he got off the train. The fact that her little flying cat friend wasn't anywhere to be seen also caught his attention.

The boy says nothing to the girl as the two young teens walk over to where the rest of the guild was gathering up at, though he wasn't complaining about the close proximity she was to him, he actually quite enjoyed it for some reason.

Master Makarov then explain to the guild that everyone was free to tour the city but had to be back at the hotel by midnight as the rules state.

"Hey, Romeo", Wendy whispers, while Makarov was still talking

"Yeah?", he answers as he turns to her seeing that listening was pointless because the rules of the game didn't apply to him.

"Do you want to go check out the city with me?", she asks while trying to beat back the blush that was developing on her face and the boy across from her arches an eyebrow.

"What, like a date? Are you asking me out on a date? ", Romeo questions, causing the dragon-slayer to lose her ongoing battle as now her face was more lit up than a street light.

"W-W-Well, n-not exactly!", Wendy stutters out as literal steam began to flow out of her ears, "Maybe just the two of us, alone, walking around and taking in the s-s-sights!"

Romeo pauses for a moment before answering, trying hard to think of a polite way of telling Wendy no when he spots something unusual behind her.

In fact, all around her as he once again realizes that time was frozen still and the girl was stuck staring at Romeo with a embarrass expression.

"This is going to be an ongoing thing with you, isn't it?", Romeo says to no one in particular. Moments later, Adam appears in front of him, reading a brochure that had on the cover in big bold letters:

 _ **Visit** **The Crocus Gardens** **Today**_

"Did you know that the cherry blossoms are in full bloom this time of year?", Adam says without looking up, "I hear they make the gardens a great place to go on your first date."

"What makes you assume I'm going to the gardens or anywhere besides the hotel to lie down?", Romeo questions.

"What?", Adam says as he puts the pamphlet away and leans over next to the frozen Wendy, "You're going to say no to a face like this?"

Romeo couldn't help but dislike the fact that Adam was way too close to Wendy for his liking.

"Look at her, she's like a puppy with those big brown eyes and you want to crush her hopes and dreams? Jesus Christ, I have no idea how that other you with the dragon inside of him has five girls chasing after him especially when he is basically you?"

"What did you say?", Romeo asks after making sure he heard that correctly, "What did you mean other me and a dragon?"

"Wait", Adam starts saying to himself, "Is it the other you with the dragon inside of him or the other you who has a different dragon as a familiar? Or maybe it's the one where the dragon trains you."

"Hey! Talking to you here!", Romeo shouts, hating that he was ignored.

"Or is it the one where you're dating that pink-hair girl? Or maybe the one where you're with the girl next door? You and the Phoenix? Oh well, anyway", Adams shrugs before turning his attention back to the boy, " Go on this little tour of the city with the girl and I'll tell you more along the way but first..."

Adam takes off his glove and puts his hand out to Romeo.

The boy stares at it for a moment before looking back at Adam.

"What? You don't shake hands?", Adam asks.

"Last time I touch you I went from being in front of my house to falling from the sky", Romeo reminded him.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic. You're alive, aren't you?", Adam grumbles as he grabs Romeo's hand and strange energy began to flow into him.

Romeo yanks his hand back and steps away from Adam, "What the hell did you just do?"

Adam simply twirls his hand before putting his glove back on, "Nothing much, just gave you the ability to slow down time."

"Huh?", Romeo says, confuses by what he just heard, "You what?"

"It's a typical starting ability for all trainees. Relatively harmless for the most part, but quite useful", Adam explain, "Don't worry, because you're new at this I put it on easy mode and it will activate whenever you need it to and will turn off whenever you feel like it."

"Once again, huh?", Romeo says.

"Don't think too hard on it, it will all come naturally but for now you're on training wheels. Try not to cause too much trouble, okay? Catch you later", Adam says as he snaps his fingers and vanishes and Romeo see the world around him start up again.

"Romeo? Romeo?", Wendy says while waving a hand in his face, "You okay there?"

Romeo shakes himself out of his trance and turns his attention to the girl, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"So do you want to go with me?", Wendy asks once again, this time while nervously fidgeting with her hands.

Romeo mentally rolls his eyes, "Yeah, I'll go. Sounds like fun."

Wendy lets out a small squeal before quickly covering her mouth up causing Romeo to arch an eyebrow at her. She then coughs a little before speaking, "Great, we can get going after everyone leaves."

"Oooooookay then", the boy replies before listening in on Master Makarov finishing his speech.

"Now don't go breaking stuff around the capital, we're here on a budget!", the old man screams and with that, the group disperses while Romeo rendezvous with his family.

"I going with the old man to check Fairy Tail in at the hotel. Once Wakaba is done making sure that Millgana and Lindsay are settled in at their hotel he is going to meet up with us so we can register the guild for the games. ", Macao tells Enno, "What are you and the girls going to be doing?"

"We're going to check out the sight around the city maybe stop in at the dance theater and beauty salon", she answers before turning her attention to Romeo, "Is Romeo coming along with you and Wakaba?"

"Actually, no", Romeo answers before his father could, "I'm going to be walking around with Wendy."

Macao, Enno, Juliet, and Rosalina, all turn their heads and stare at Romeo with perplex looks on their faces.

"What? She invited me", he then turns to Macao, "Or are you going to say I can't go with her?"

Macao looks over where Wendy was currently standing a few feet away talking /arguing with Carla, no doubt about the fact the young dragon-slayer wanted to walk around the capital alone with a boy she knew so little about. He then stares back down at his son who had a slight smile on his lips.

"Fine, but you two better be at the hotel by midnight and don't go causing problems", Macao says.

"No promises", Romeo yells as he walks away toward Wendy, internally jumping for joy that he got one over on his dad as he went over to meet up with dragon-slayer. He passes by a glaring Carla but pays no mind to her as he and Wendy make a beeline for the market place.

Right before he ran into a wall of solid muscle.

Romeo rolls his eyes and curses under his breath as he stares up into the eyes of Natsu and Gray.

"Can I help you with something?", he asks annoyed that he was being held up by who he considers two of the biggest idiots at Fairy Tail, a huge accomplishment seeing who was in the guild. This is mostly because he was always hearing about the amount of damage these guys cause while on jobs from his dad and a few times, he has witnessed it first-hand.

Both the Fire Dragon-Slayer and Ice-Make Mage stare down at Romeo with looks that the boy would akin to hostile while Wendy was now shaking in terror next to Romeo, looking back between him and the two mages she considered her brothers.

"You better not try anything funny with Wendy while you go around the city", Gray said and Romeo found himself snorting as he tries to hold back from full-on laughing.

"Yeah, because I'm going to trying something with the girl who could easily rip my arm off if she wanted to!", Romeo states causing Wendy to gasp.

"I would never do that!", Wendy fume as puffs out her cheeks out.

"I was just joking, relax", Romeo tells her before turning his attention back to Natsu and Gray, "Am I free to go now? I mean, don't you guys have a town to destroy or a fight to start with each other over the dumbest of reasons, like one of you breathing too hard?"

Natsu glare at Romeo so hard that the boy swore he saw slits form in his eyes, but it was Gray who made a move at him and reaches a hand out to grab his shirt.

Or he would have if within a blink of an eye he was moving slower than the school clock when Romeo wants to go home.

" _What the hell?",_ Romeo thought as he simply moves out the way of Gray's hand and watches it harmlessly go by, though this took several moments to happen.

He directs his attention to the two dragon-slayers while Gray was still in motion and notice that neither one of them has moved. Natsu was still glaring down even though Romeo had vacated from the spot he was glaring at and Wendy still had her cheeks puff out from his earlier comment, though it was slowing starting to change to a look of worry.

"Wow", was all that escape his mouth as he takes in his surroundings. The mad rush of the crowd had trickled down to a simmer and Romeo sees the public fountain slowly shooting up sprouts of water. He could see the tiny droplets as the stream broke apart due to the works of gravity and watches bit by bit as they came crashing down into the pool beneath. He looks to the sky and sees a flock of birds flying overhead, their wings beating so slowly that he could easily count the feathers on them. He turns his focus to the train he arrived on which was now starting to depart. The puffs of smoke were gradually coming out of engine car at a turtle's pace and the conductor was taking multiple seconds to merely jump from the platform back on the train car.

He takes a look at his family and sees his mom and sisters sluggishly wave goodbye to his father and Wakaba as they made their way toward the markets, their hands taking the time it took to make popcorn just to go back and forth one time.

"Whoa, he wasn't kidding about slowing down time", Romeo tell himself.

Within moments everything sped back up and Gray is tumbling forward into thin air, struggling to catch his balance before he falls. He quickly scans the area around him and finds Romeo a few feet to his right, staring at him with a look that easily conveys the message that he was unimpressed by the Ice-Make mage.

Again, Gray tries to grab Romeo and again the boy somehow moves out of the way quicker than Gray thought he could. He does this three more times and all three attempts equal the same result as the first.

"Wow, are you usually this slow? Thought you were supposed to be a powerful mage or something? You try out for the S-Class exams, right, or are those just a joke?", Romeo says while trying his hardest to keep from laughing, " _Wow, this slow down time thingy is pretty cool._ _I can only imagine the_ _things I could get away with_ _now_ _, especially at school!"_

Gray could feel his blood rising with ever smart remark Romeo made, "You better watch your mouth, kid, or I'll..."

"You'll what? Impale me with an ice spike in public?", Romeo smirks, knowing full well he was pushing his luck but continuing anyway, "Putting the legal consequences aside, the fact remains that my dad is still technically the guild master on paper until the Magic Council recognizes Grandpa Makarov and there is no way he would overlook such an offense, least favorite child or not!"

Gray was now clenching his fist, wanting nothing more than to pummel it into Romeo's face, but unfortunately the boy was right. It was public knowledge at the guild that Romeo was the least loved of the Conbolt triplets but he was still Macao and Enno's son and they would not be so forgiving if Gray attacked him, especially with magic.

"Whatever", is all Gray could say in defeat, trying his hardest not to lose face in front of the boy or his nearby rival.

But both Natsu and Wendy had confused looks on their faces, clearly baffled by what they just witness. Romeo completely evades Gray's grabs and from what they saw, most likely without even trying. Now Natsu wasn't Gray's biggest fan but he knew for a fact that Gray was not slow. He could keep up with the Fire Dragon-Slayer in a fight and knows full well that he has taken on the likes of Racer and Jet, mages who are well-known to rely on magic that either speeds them up or slows those around them down.

So the fact that Romeo was easily dodging him did nothing but confuse the dragon-slayer.

Also, he wasn't the only one who witnesses this. Ezra and Lucy were currently staring dumbfounded at the scene in front of them. When they witness Natsu and Gray towering over Romeo while glaring at him, they instantly knew that the two of them were going to try something stupid so they made their way over to stop them.

But to see Romeo, a non-mage, completely brush off Gray's first attempt to get a hold of him made them pause. So much that they kept standing there for the Ice-Make mages four other attempts.

"Hey, Ezra", Lucy asks while still looking ahead.

"Yes, Lucy", the Queen of the Fairies answers.

"From what I heard from his family, Romeo gets into a lot of fights at school, right?", Lucy says as she finally turns to look at her friend who nods in reply.

"I have heard this as well", Ezra says.

"Do you think that's enough for him to be able to react faster than Gray?", Lucy finishes and Ezra could only shake her head and shrug.

"Anything it possible", Ezra answers.

Back with Romeo who was now having a second glaring contest with Gray and Natsu. It was during this time that Wendy makes an attempt to quell the tension in the air between the three boys.

"Romeo and I are just going to take a walk around the market and the Crocus Gardens afterward, that's all!", she waves her hands frantically hoping to calm down the two more impulsive members of her team.

"Yeah, it's just going to be us walking around", Romeo adds before pointing behind the duo, "Besides, if you keep this crap up you'll have to deal with her."

"Oh, please", Natsu comments as he brushes Romeo's warning off, "Like we're going to fall for the -gak!", as he and Gray suddenly feel a dark presence behind them and slowly turn to see Mira smiling at them while releasing a dark aura that engulfed them.

"Now you two wouldn't be trying to stop Wendy and Romeo from having some time to themselves now, would you?", Mira asks as the stone road underneath starts to crack from the pressure she was putting down on it. She had overheard Wendy conversation with Romeo earlier and nearly leaped for joy when the boy agreed to go with her. She had high hopes for these two and she be damned if Natsu and Gray were going to mess it up for her.

Wendy watches on as both Natsu and Gray cowered before Mira before suddenly feeling a hand take hold of her and turns to see that it was Romeo's.

"I think we better get going before it gets messy", he tells her.

Wendy looks back once more at a frighten Natsu and Gray and see Lucy and Ezra advancing on them as well.

"I think you're right", she says and the two kids take off at a brisk walk toward the marketplace with Romeo wondering what mischief he was going to get himself into with this new ability while Wendy was glowing red as she kept looking down at their still connected hands and muttering incoherent sentences. The two of them push through the throng of people that were going about their day and seem to disappear into the masses to the untrained eye.

That is except for one.

Watching the two of them make their way through the crowds from atop a nearby building was Adam, eyeing the scene with fondness.

"Ah, young love. I envy the boy for I never had a chance like that with Eve", he says to himself, "Wonder if things would have turn out differently if we were given that opportunity."

He keeps an eye on them for a few more moments before shaking his head, "Oh well, no point dwelling on such thoughts", as snaps his fingers and a golden pocket watch materialize out of thin air into the palm of his hand and he takes a gander at it.

"Three hours", he says, "They will have three hours to themselves before the real fun begins. Let's see what you can get up into until then, shall we, Romeo?"

 **A/N: Next Chapter: Romeo and Wendy have fun in the capital and Romeo faces his first test while Adam guides him through it. Also, yes, Adam has been to other planes of existence where other Romeos' exist that so happen to be the setting for my other stories.**

 **Also, don't think Romeo's new power is OP. It's nothing compared to what he will do in the future and it will not always help him in a fight. Remember, he is now just starting his training with Adam.**

 **Also, _Primis_ means "first" in Latin**


End file.
